In The Arts: Support 'The Dust' film

Filmmakers Kailee McGee and Rich Costales will host a fundraising soiree from 8 to 10:30 p.m. today at 805 Laguna Canyon Road to celebrate and raise money for "The Dust," a documentary that takes an intimate look inside the Sawdust Art Festival's 44th season.

The event will include a premiere of the trailer, hors d'oeuvres and wine, a silent auction of original artwork and jewelry from Sawdust artists and an array of other fun items including VIP tickets to Universal Studios in Hollywood and Orlando, a night at the Venetian in Vegas and concert tickets to see the Blue Man Group.

Proceeds from the evening will go toward completing the documentary, which McGee said she hopes to wrap at the end of September and screen at South Coast Cinemas in Laguna by the end of the year. The piece will also be submitted to film festivals nationwide.

To RSVP or donate to the silent auction, contact thedustthefilm@gmail.com. Fore more information about the project, visit http://www.thedustfilm.info.

*

Celebrating the circle of life

Endangered Planet Gallery, 384 Forest Ave., will bring artists from L.A. and across the nation to partake in "Grounded: Autumnal Equinox," an exhibit that will run Saturday through Dec. 5.

An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

"Green" artists J.Reto, Susan Lawrence, William Emboden, David Gardner and Randall Oldieve reflect the gallery's concept of the greening of art.

Made of organic paint, paper, collages and/or montages of recycled objects, elements in both their materials and images of nature, it's inhabitants and cycles, involve the preservation of life.

The mission, Curator Tony Clark said, is to raise awareness and conscientiousness of peril and plight of our earth and all life forms with which we share this planet.

"The Autumnal Equinox is a time of harvest when the sun is aligned with the earth in this unique season of death and rebirth and to celebrate this seasonal force that moves and affects all our lives," he said.

For more information, call (949) 497-5690 or visit http://www.endangeredplanet.org.

*

Free show at coffeehouse Saturday

Laguna Beach performer Michael Burnz and Deejay Jimnastic will put on a free hip-hop/reggae show from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Neighborhood Cup coffeehouse, 1 Journey in Aliso Viejo (adjacent to the Aliso Viejo Library).

Fore more information, visit facebook.com/likemic.

*

Create watercolors on the beach

Laguna Outreach for Community Arts will hold "Watercolors on the Beach" from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Treasure Island Beach at Montage Resort, where students will observe tide pool shrimps and crabs, and create a watercolor journal under direction of instructor September McGee.

All supplies are provided including a tote bag, watercolors, gel pens and a snack courtesy of Montage. The cost is $35 adults; $20 ages 5 and older, accompanied by an adult. Advance registration is required; contact call (949) 363-4700 or e-mail LOCAarts@yahoo.com, http://www.LOCAarts.org.

A pre-reception with wine and cheese will take place at 6 p.m. in the California Gallery. After the screening, Hardy and Omori will sign autographs and answer questions about the film.

With one foot in the world of tattooing and the other in the fine arts, Hardy talks about how each informed the other and how he veered off course from a career in fine arts to pursue his childhood obsession: tattooing.

His first mentor, he said, was tattooist Phil Sparrow, who showed him photographs of yakuza (Japanese gangsters), their bodies covered with visions of Japanese myths and heroes—snarling samurai warriors, rearing dragons, spitting gods of thunder and howling wind — which captivated the 10-year-old Hardy.

For the next 20 years, he immersed himself in the world of tattoos. With his fine art training and drawing on his vast knowledge of art history, the art and cultures of Asia, Polynesia and Mexico, he refined and reinvigorated tattoo imagery.

When a clothing designer discovered his images in 2004, the Ed Hardy brand was born.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased http://www.LagunaArtMuseum.org or at the door. Only 75 seats are available, so on-site purchases are subject to availability.

Laguna College of Art & Design will host a portion of American Artist Magazine's "Weekend with the Masters" from Sept. 23 to 26 at the campus and Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa.

The annual workshop and conference is designed to give practicing artists, art collectors and enthusiasts who are passionate about traditional art the chance to study with top representational painters.

The event helps share principles, knowledge and understanding that have been handed down from the masters of the past while interacting with the masters of the present who are passing this legacy on, and fosters the connection among like-minded painters through though-provoking presentations and discussions, according to the college.

Participants will have the opportunity to gain new skills and knowledge to take their painting to the next level while developing the insight and understanding needed to continue making traditional art relevant in our culture.

In addition to outdoor plein air workshops for the landscape painter, campus studios will host workshops teaching drawing, oil and watercolor for the figure, portrait and still-life painter.

For more information and complete schedule, visit http://www.aamastersweekend.com.

The exhibit, which explores the natural and man-made world's possibility for restoration and revitalization following an imagined catastrophic event, illustrates spectacular scenes of natural cleansing, transformation and rebirth. Villalba uses a variety of strokes, washes, bleeds and blends over multiple layers of paint in each piece.

Born in Quito, Ecuador, in 1977, Villalba studied fine art at New World School of the Arts in Miami and received a bachelor's degree from Cooper Union School of Art in New York City. Over the past 10 years, he has shown his work at galleries throughout the U.S. and in biennial exhibitions at Exit Art and the Queens Museum of Art in New York City. He currently lives and works in Miami.

For more information, visit art@demossagallery.com or call (949) 715-9229.